Band Booking Practise Part 2 - Going Solo

A couple of you emailed after the post about rehearsals & band booking success. In answer to you, this 7th holiday tip is about what to do if you can't get the whole band together to rehearse as often as you need.

If this is a problem for you too, you could do worse than investing in what still my remains one of my best pieces of gigging kit.

A phrase trainer like the Tascam GTR1 on the left, is basically an mp3 player which you plug your guitar (or voice) into as well. 

You can then mute your own part on the original recording so you can play along as if rehearsing with the band in question. You're also able to loop and slow down those tricky phrases until you get them absolutely nailed.

Any good semi-pro gigging musician will tell you that effective band rehearsals are not where you all learn your parts for a new number. You should do that alone, before you all get together. 

That way you'll be up and playing those band bookings in 2012 in the fastest time possible.

How to Rehearse your Material for Band Booking Success

Here's the 6th  day of band booking tips for what to day while you wait for the gigs to pile up.

Actually of course, band bookings don't just arrive. You have to go out and get them. But that's for later. For now, there's plenty you can do to ensure great gigging success before you get near the stage.

One thing you can spend this time doing is of course rehearsing your material. Don't do it like most other bands though. To stand out from other bands when you gig you want to do 2 things.

1. Rehearse as if you're playing a gig.

This means deciding on your set-list(s), writing it down for all band members and them rehearsing in the order you'll play them on the night.

This will do a number of things for you. 

Firstly,  playing all the same numbers in the same order countless times before will reduce gig-night nerves. You'll know exactly what's coming next at all times. Second, playing everything through as if gigging, you'll quickly be  aware of any "trouble spots" with potential gaps in between numbers. You can then spend some time working out how to eliminate these for a much more professional show on the night. The third benefit you'll get from rehearsing as if you're gigging is you can plan any stage banter between numbers in advance. how much more easier is that than struggling for something to say with an unfamiliar song order prepared shortly before you go onstage?

More on  rehearsing for gigs

2. Rehearse until you can play the songs in your sleep

Or until you're blue in the face - or however you want to describe it. Having no doubt about your ability on the night will not just eliminate band booking nerves but also allow you to focus a little more on putting on a show and interacting with the audience.  To a gig crowd this looks a whole lot better than two guitarists staring at their fretboards and a singer frowning at his lyric sheets....

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Band Booking Succeess through Better Set-Lists

Here's the 5th thing you can do to improve your band booking success if you're not gigging enough over this holiday period.

You're not alone if you've never given too set-lists.

Often gig set-lists just evolve over time with new songs coming in and old material being taken out of the lists. There's no thought to planning the overall structure of the show or balance of the material.

Playing a band booking with a well-planned and well-structured set-list will go a long way to securing a repeat gig for you. The more regular repeat work you can get from venues, the less ongoing effort you have to put into getting your band booked. Poor set-lists result in luke-warm crowd responses and little repeat bookings. 

Ultimately you can split up or give up just because you didn't spend enough time planning out what you were going to play....

Check out the balance between uptempo material and versus slower numbers for example. If you're a covers band make sure too much material isn't from the same  all the songs from the same era or genre (unless you specialise of course).

Think about the function of each song within the set-list. Do all of them merit a place there? If so, why?  Which numbers should be played next to each other and why? 

Do you have a strong number to start with? Is it also one which is not too technically taxing so you can relax and gain confidence early on in the show? Which song can ease you into the gig and make a big impact at the start?

You'll also want to plan which song will create the most memorable ending (and most favourable impression) to the set for you. Also, how can you structure your set so other numbers give you a strong, logical build up to your "finale"?

Do a Google search for "band X set-list" and have a look at the structure of some of your favourite bands set-list structures. Ask yourself why you think certain songs might be in and others no,t and why they're positioned where they are in relation to other material..

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4th Day of Christmas Band Booking Tips

When you want to increase your band booking success how do you make finding gig venues even easier?

You can check the basics on the link further down but here's a couple of simple extra tips many bands don't think of.

Your aim should to establish a good size list of potential live music venues you'll target. My own band started with 50 prospects but you'll have more (and faster) success if  aim to draw up a list of  100 potential band booking venues.

"No way!" you cry. "I don't even know of 10 places that have live bands on around here!

The trick is to carve up the responsibility for finding venues between band members and areas.

So for 100 venues if there's 4 in your band each has to find 25 venues. Much less strain  than one person being faced with finding 100 venues. 

You can make this even easier still. Designate different towns for each band member to focus on. Join the Facebook pages for "nights out" or "night life" in each of these towns to get abreast of live music venues - as well of course using the techniques mentioned earlier for finding band booking venues.

For solo artists of course, you'll have to do the work yourself but you too can  think about who you know in each town you want to target.  Who amongst your friends or work colleagues might be able to "scout" for you to find even more venues. 

The key point to remember about establishing a long list of venues to target is that band booking is just a numbers game. The more venues you pitch the more gigs you'll get. If you focus on just a small handful of  potential gig venues the tougher you'll make it for yourselves. 

And we all want band booking to be easy don't we?

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3rd Day of Xmas Band Booking Tips

(Image from realor.com)

While you're looking for ways to improve your band booking success, tip number 3 here is something missed by a lot of musicians.

It applies whether you're gigging already and you want more, or if you haven't yet started playing live.

You might find this hard to believe at the moment - especially if you're facing a Xmas holiday period without any or enough band bookings. The fact is though that once you've learnt the steps for how to get your band booked a few times there's be nothing to stop you completely packing  your gig diary with dates. 

Band booker beware though. If you don't do a little preparation ahead of the game, that's where your trouble can begin.

As a band, you need to agree in advance between you, how much work you want. How many nights a week or month (or year) you want to be out gigging. 

This will do more than give you all a target to focus on and motivate you to get the bookings. As importantly it'll set limits that all band members "sign up to" so that everyone is happy and  gigging doesn't ultimately become a pain and get in the way of other commitments. 

I've worked with enough bands over the years to know that once some band members start complaining about your gigging schedule, or even worse, you have to cancel bookings - your days as a successful live act are numbered....

More about band booking preparation

Xmas Band Booking  Tip #1

Xmas Band Booking Tip #2

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Band Booking Xmas Tip 2

Do you need to improve the amount of band bookings you've been getting? 

If so, here's the 2nd of twelve days of band booking tips you can use over the holiday season. These simple techniques have all been used by bands and solo artists in over 15 countries around the  world to fill their gig dairies.


Once you've found out about other bands and acts who are playing gigs at the potential gig venues in your area (see band booking tip #1), you need to look at how they compare to your act. 

You do this, because when the time comes to start trying to sell yourself to venues, you'll need to know what makes you guys different from other bands. This will give you a lot more confidence when you're pitching your band and also help to make it clear to venues why they should book you.


The best way to start this process is just by listing down all the "features" or facts about your band (or yourself if you're a solo act). Things like:


- Numbers of people in the band 
- Instruments played
- Band and individual band members musical history
- Ages
- Where you're based
- Where (if anywhere), you've played before
- Type of material


No matter what your answers are to the above questions, if you have some real differences between you and other bands competing for the same gigs, you'll be able to use the differences to sell you act.


Once you've got your list of features, and you've compared them with the other local bands you've found, ask yourself which features appear to be your strong and weak points. Think about whether and how you might improve your weak points and how you'll aim to push your strong points when it comes to marketing your act to venues for band bookings. 


More ideas on this 2nd Xmas band booking tip here

 

Band Booking and the 12 Days of Xmas

Do you have enough band bookings over this coming festive period? If you don't, here's the first of 12 tips to make sure you're not in the same position next year - and to get you off to a flying start in 2012.

Before we get on to today's tip, make sure you really have done everything you can to  secure those last minute December bookings this year. Have a look at this Last minute Xmas Band booking post first.

When you've done that,today's tip is simply to check out your competition.

Yes, really. 

 

If you're going to be one of those rare bands who actually fill out their gig dairies with more band bookings than they can play (and you can, trust me on this), you'll want to know all about the other bands or acts in the same genre as you who are playing your target area or region. 

Google "originals rock band Detroit", or "Covers band Birmingham" depending on what you're playing. "Band for hire Detroit" or "party band Birmingham" and you take some time today to have a look at these other acts. Your "competition" if you like.

How do they describe themselves on their websites? What sort of material do they play (any cover material ideas you might be able to use there?)If they have mp3s on line how do they sound and how are they different to your own act? 

Do they have a "Gigs" section on their website? If so, take note of the venues they're playing and add them to your own list of target venues for when the time comes to start trying to make your 2012 band bookings.

Keep in mind, as well as finding useful info such as gig venues, what you're trying to do here is to get a picture of how your band compares with the others who will be competing essentially the same gigs. 

Later, you can look at using what you learn from this activity to create a strong identity and points of difference for your own act.

Gig-Getter Band Booking ebook

Can You Still Get Band Bookings for 2011?

Even this late in the day you can still band bookings for this year if you approach it the right way. If you have the availability and are ready to confirm a date at short notice you can keep adding bookings to your band’s diary in November and December.

Clearly now we’re mainly talking about other bands or acts cancelling pre-booked gigs and you being called on to take their place. 

Here are three proven actions you need to take NOW to maximise your chances of last minute band bookings for the rest of this year.

1. Make sure you have an up-to-date Gig-calendar.

All band members need to have access to this and confirm which nights they’re available on.  The chance of a gig can be lost if a venue calls about your availability and you tell them you’ll have to get back to them. Often they have a list of potential replacement bands to call and the gig will go to the first to say “yes”.

Search “Online calendar” (there are numerous available) and you’ll find one something which you can all share online. This will make sure you’re ready to confirm at a moments notice – crucial when you get the frantic phone call from a venue where the band has let them down.

2. Create a Newsletter and mail to Potential Venues.

Its’ all very well being ready to take a booking if a distraught venue calls you, but how do you get them to pick up the phone and ring your number when they need a band?

You have to get your name in front of them on a regular basis as the “Go to” alternative when they have a night to fill.

The first step in doing this is creating a long list of target venues. Once you have these. You need to make sure they have something they can refer to when they need a band or act in an emergency. That something is a band newsletter. You can send them via email or post. In my personal experience I’ve found hard copies to be more effective – although many bands I’ve worked with had booking gigs via their digital newsletter.

Great. But what do you say in your newsletter?

Here are some ideas which could get you started

 - Have you got a New(ish) band member you could write something about? 

 - What about New equipment you might have invested in? 

 - Details or photos of any gigs you’ve  recently played 

 - Forthcoming gigs 

 - New numbers or material you’ve added or written

 - Clear contact details for how you can be reached and booked via email and phone 

 - An idea on the genre of music you play 

 - Photos of any of the above 

 - A statement close to your contact details saying something like:

 “Some dates in December still available due to late cancellation”

If you have a good demo you’re happy with, you can enclose this with the newsletter.  Make sure all your contact details are printed on the CD. Don’t worry if you don’t have a demo though, a well crafted mail-out can get you band bookings even without being heard.

3. Follow-up your newsletter with a phone call

Talk to the person who makes the decisions about booking the bands. Check they received the mailing and remind them you have some availability in December should they need it.

It’s easy to give in this late in the day and believe all the 2011 band bookings are taken. Don’t be fooled. There are still gigs to be had if your band’s name is the one in front of the venue when they need one at short notice.

More on Last Minute Band Booking 

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3 Questions to Unlock Band Booking Venues

Contrary to what some musicians might think you don't fill your diary with band bookings by sitting back waiting  for them to call  you.

Neither do you get fully booked with gigs by calling up  venues and telling them how great you are.

One of the biggest secrets to successful selling (or "pitching") is the importance of asking questions of the the person you're trying to sell to. NOT just talking at them...

Now, nobody want to be cross-examined by someone trying to sell them something. Especially if they've never met the "seller" before. However, we're not talking about you needing to interrogate a venue booker with a long list of probing demands.

Here though are 3 Key questions you can you to unlock even the most reluctant venue you might be targeting.

1. "Can you tell me who's the person responsible for booking bands?"

I'm always amazed by the amount of bands who attempt to plough into a pitch without establishing whether they're talking to someone who can actually give them the gig. If you're trying to sell your act to the wrong person you won't only be wasting your (and their) time. You'll run the risk of  relying on them to pitch on your behalf to the person who can actually make the decision. Can you afford to rely on anyone else to have your best interests at heart?

Make a separate call to the venue - ahead of when you're  trying to pitch your act, and establish the decision maker with the question above.

2. "Does your current supply of bands meet all your needs or do you think there may be some room for improvement?"

I remember one of the first ever  readers of the Gig-Getter band booking manual calling me up to query using this question. He told me it wasn't something he felt he could ever ask a venue. I told him that the question (and the answers I'd received to it) had played in huge part in generating 000's of band bookings for my own act and others I'd helped. he tried and called me back to apologise!

When you stop and think about it, don't we all decide whether or not to buy anything based on whether our needs are being fully met by what we already have?

What can the venue booker say when you ask him that question?

He or she may of course be perfectly satisfied with the acts they already use. In which case you add them to your newsletter mailing list (circumstances at every venue will change at some point).

Often they'll say something along the lines of:

"There's always room for improvement" (Honestly, I've lost count of the amount of times I had that answer).

At other times, you'll be told they're "actively looking for new acts".

No really. This will happen when you're pitching enough.

3. "How do we get considered to play at your venue?"

Here, you're just checking what are obstacles between you getting the gig. Some acts assume every venue wants a CD. Some prefer mp3 demos. Others want a full press kit. Actually, not all will even need to hear you. Some might prefer to check out your website or Facebook page. Others might only need to know what kind of material you play or how much they'll have to pay you before deciding whether to book you.

If you don't ask what they need how you will ever know?

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Pre-Planned or "All Natural" Audience Banter at Your Band Bookings?

Should you use pre-planned audience banter or let everything just be spontaneous when you play band bookings?"

This is a question that often divides musicians and band members.

 I was reminded of it again last week when one half of a duo from New Zealand emailed me. He told me how well some of the "one-liners" in "Rouse the crowd" band booking manual had worked for him during their latest gig. He said that even his partner in the duo was now able to "Play up to the audience".

I do understand those musicians who feel uncomfortable with the notion of using”scripted banter" during their gigs. They worry that they'll come across as false or contrived during the performance if everything isn't natural. 

For me though, not having at least some idea of what you'll say to a crowd in between songs is like turning up for a gig without a set-list worked out.
Just because you've played a song (or even the same set) before, doesn't mean it can feel, look and sound fresh to any audience..

The key really is in the way you use any pre-planned banter. Obviously you don't want to be looking down reading from a script or use one-liners which have no relevance for that particular crowd. 

Most musicians, when they've tried using some pre=planned audience chat will never go back to turning up on the night and hoping for the best. Not least of all because if you have at least some idea of what you're going to say to an audience (and when during the show), you have no chance of those awkward moments or long pregnant pauses when you "dry up".

The best one-liners are those that you can adapt to suit the particular gig or which give you further ideas for some of your own creations. Either way, many musicians find that once they do a little work on audience banter ahead of the band booking it will do two major things for you.

1. Hugely boost your stage confidence

2. Help your performance and delivery come across as much more professional.

Now unless you're going for the nervous/amateur look, who wouldn't want those benefits?

Audience Banter Tips

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